Electric alarm for elevators.



- PATENTED SEPT. 1,1903,

I. 0. KINNBOOM- I ELECTRIC ALARM FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24- 1903.

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No. 737,635. z PATENTED. SEPT. l. 1903. P. 0. K INNEGOM; ELECTRIC ALARMFOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24. 1803.

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UNITED STATES Patented September 1, i903 PATENT OFFICE.

FRED O. KINNEOOM, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO EDWARD L.HAIL AND GEORGE HAIL, OF PROVIDENCE, -RHODE ISLAND.

ELECTRIC ALARM FOR ELEVATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 737,635, datedSeptember 1, 1903.

Application filed February 24, 1903- s l N u (N0 model) To all whom, itmay concern:

Be it known that I, FRED O. KINNEOOM, of Providence, in the county ofProvidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Electric Alarms for Elevators, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention has relation to electric alarms for freight-elevators.

Heretofore reliance has been placed upon either the ordinarylighting-circuit or upon a battery-circuit for supplying current to thealarms, but with unsatisfactory results. The employment of alighting-circuit is more or less dangerous, owing to its high voltage,and expensive, and, on the other hand, where a battery-circuit isemployed the attention required to keep the batteries in proper workingorder causes annoyance and inconvenience.

According to the present invention a magneto-electric generator isemployed which is operated only when the car is in motion and whichsupplies the current for magneto-electric alarms, such as polarizedbells, only as it is needed.

On the illustration a system is shown as applied to elevator-wellsfitted with floordoors at each landing which open automatically as thecar approaches that landing from either direction. When a car approachesa landing from above, it is in most cases in sight to those on the floorbelow as soon as the hatchway opens; but there is no warning to personson the landing or working upon the h atchway-door when a car isapproaching from below, and therefore many persons have been seriouslyor fatally injured when standing on or passing over such hatchway-doors.By the employment of a warning-signal on each landing to be sounded asthe car approaches the same from either direction and before thehatchway-doors are opened it is possible .to prevent many accidents ofthe character referred to.

According to the illustrated embodiment of the invention a plurality ofactuators or contact-pieces may be employed for operating the variousswitches, so as to prevent prolonged sounding of the warning-signals andciable space of time before the hatchway doors commence to open.

On the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents diagrammatically anelevator-well and the alarm-circuit. Fig. 2 represents a front elevationof one of the double switches. Fig. 3 represents a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents 'a section on the line 4C 4 of Fig. 2.Fig. 5 represents a section on the line 3 3 with the levers throwndownward. Fig. 6 represents a similar section and illustrates the leveryielding to permit the passage of a projection on the car. Fig. 7represents the switch-lever in its upward position and yielding topermit the passage of a projection on the car in an upward direction.Fig. 8 represents one of the switchlevers in detail and shows thecam-teeth on its hub. Fig. 9 represents another arrangement of mechanismfor actuating the generator. Fig. 10 represents a section on the line 1010 of Fig. 9.

On the drawings the elevator-car is indi* cated conventionally at a. Ittravels up and down the elevator-well from and past the various landingsindicated at b b b 6 The hatchway-doors are indicated at y yy y and theyare opened and closed automatically as the car passes the landings. Thesupportingcable of the car is indicated at c, and it passes around thesheaves d d at the top of the well.

6 e e 6 indicate magneto-electric alarms, such as polarized bells,placed one at each landing, as shown. Each alarm is in a branch circuitand receives its electric current from a magneto-electric generator,(indicated at f.) The armature f of said generator is actuated from anymovable element forming a part of the elevator-plant. As shown, it maybe actuated by an endless beltf from a pulleyf located at the top of thewell. The pulleyf" is on a shaft 1, carrying a small pulley f to whichrotation is transmitted by a belt f from a pulley f fast with the pulleyd. The rotation of the pulley (1 due to the travel of the car upward ordownward effects the rapid rotation of the armature f of thegeneratorf'for generating the current to effect the sounding of thevarious alarms as permitted by the switches.

It is understood that in lieu of the belt-andpulley power-transmittingmechanism other devices may be employed, such as illustrated in Fig. Inthis case a grooved pulley g bears against the hoisting-cable c and isrotated by the longitudinal movement of said cable. The said pulley ismounted in the end of the radius-arm g, which is pivoted upon thebracket h and is held toward the cable by a spring 7t. The armature f ofthe magneto-electric generator is provided with a small pinion gintermeshing with and driven by a gear g the shaft g of which is mountedin the bracket h and serves as a pivot-stud for the arm g. The gear 9has secured to it a pinion 9 which intermeshes with teeth formed on thepulley g. WVith this construction it is apparent that the movement ofthe cable will rotate the pulley g and transmit power to thearmature-shaftf'.

The conductors of the main circuit, which includes the magneto-electricgenerator f, comprise the conductors it". The alarms e e, et seq, arearranged in branch circuits or in multiple with each other. Provision ismade for closing the branch circuits successively as the car moves upand down and for insuring that the said circuits are broken when thefloor of the car is on a level with a landing.

Preferably the alarms are sounded not only at the landing opposite whichthe car may be, but also the landing which is being approached by thesaid car, whether said car be moving upward or downward.

In the illustrated form of the invention there are a plurality of switchmechanisms at each landing, said mechanisms controlling the circuits fortwo alarms, so that each alarm may be closed by each one of two branchcircults. Any suitable form of switch mechanism may be employed,although for obvious reasons it is desirable to utilize a form of switchsuch as illustrated upon the drawings. The three switches at eachlanding comprise two single switches n 0 and a double switch 19.

In Fig. 2 a double switch is illustrated. It consists of ordinary basehaving lugs r r, in which is secured shaft r for the switcharms r rwhich are held apart by a spring r Each switch-arm has on its hub teethr adapted to be yieldingly engaged by the spring r ,with complementalteeth on the lugs 1', so as to yieldingly hold said switch-arms ineither of the two different positions shown in Figs. 3 and 5 and also toreturn said arms to said positions if they be moved to the positionsshown in Figs. 6 and 7. Said switcharms are adapted to engage contacts1, which are set in and insulated from the lugs 1". When theswitch-levers r are moved to a downward position, as shown in Fig. 5,the circuit between them and the contacts is broken.

The alarms e e e are each connected with two groups of switchmechanisms, as previonsly stated, although butone switch mechanism isshown as connected with the alarm e for lack of space. The alarm e atthe top landing is connected with but one group of switch mechanisms forreasons which will appear, since the car does not travel above saidlanding. From the supply-conductor t" there leads to each of theswitches 10 p p a conductor,(designatedin the severalinstances asqq grespectively.) These wires are electrically connected with the bases ofthe double switches.

The single switches ateach landing have insulated contacts similar tothose at rflwhich are respectively connected by conductors s 25 (and thehigher power of those characters) with the insulated contacts r of thedouble switches. Each single switch is substantially similar to the halfof a double switch when the latter is divided along its median line,except that the insulated contacts are located below thesupporting-shaft?" instead of above it, as shown in Fig. 2, so that ineach of the single switches the circuit is closed when the switch-leveris downwardly inclined, being in this respect different from the doubleswitches,in which the circuits are closed when the switch-levers areupwardly inclined. The base of the single switch it is electricallyconnected with the alarm e by a conductor u, the switch at with thealarm e by the conductor to, and the single switch 11 is connected withthe alarm e by the conductor 162. The switch 0 is connected with thealarm e by the conductor 1), the switch 0 with the alarm e by theconductor '11, and the switch 0 with the alarm e by' the conductor 12From this description it will be apparent that a circuit may be closedthrough the alarm e for instance, either by the switch 0 or by theswitch n providing the double switches have their levers in properpositions to close the circuits. The various switch levers are adaptedto be actuated by one or more actuators on the car, said actuators beingiridicated, respectively, as to cc and consisting cf projections whichare adapted to engage the said levers and move them upward or downward.The actuator 00 is employed for throwing the switch-levers upwardly asthe car travels in that direction, whereas the actuator w is relied uponto move said switch-levers downward when the car travels from an upperto a lower landing. In both cases the following actuator or the secondactuator to pass the switches does not permanently alter the position inwhich the levers were left by the first actuator to engage them. The twosingle switches of each group are located relatively near the ceiling,so that their levers may be engaged by the actuator 10 soon after thecar is started 011 its downward trip, so as to be thrown downward andclose the circuits through the signal on the landing below as well as onthe landing which the car is leaving.

In Fig. l'the car may be assumed to be sta tionary. At this time thealarms are all silent, since the circuits are all broken. Assuming thatthe car moves upward, the following results will occur. The actuator 00will engage the levers of the double switch p'and throw them intoengagement with their respective contacts. The single switches n 0 atthis time have their lovers in engagement with their contacts, so that.as soon as the circuit through the double switch is closed the currentis enabled to pass from the supply-wire 11 to the alarm e and the alarm6 The further movement of the car, however, brings the actuator intoengagement with the levers of the single switches or 0, so as to movesaid switch-levers upwardly and break the circuits through saidswitches. As the car continues its travel upward the actuator 00 isfinally brought into engagement with the levers of the double switch 19to move them into engagement with their contacts, and consequently thecircuit is again closed through the alarm e and is also closed throughthe alarm 6 The circuits, however, are broken as soon as the actuator 00engages the levers of the single switches a 0 As the car movesdownwardly from the top landing the actuator to thrusts downwardly thelevers of the single switches 71 o and closes the circuits through thealarms e 6 These circuits are broken as soon as the actuator 10 engagesthe levers of the double switch 19 This action takes place at each groupof switches as the car moves downwardly, and it will be seen that at alltimes except when an alarm is being sounded at least oneswitch or pairof switches in each group of switches has its levers in position toclose the circuit therethrough, while the other switch or switches ofthe same group have their levers in position to break the circuit. Thelower switch of each group is located at such a distance from the upperswitches of each group that the warning-sig nals will sound during theinterval of time covered by the passage of the car from the upperswitches to the point where the hatchway-doors below the car commence toopen. The actuator m on the car-frame is located at such a height thatit will engage the levers of the lower or double switch of each groupsoon after the car has started on its upward trip. Therefore on eitherup or down trips of the car the warning-signal sounds on the landingahead of the car from the time it leaves its landing until thehatchway-doors ahead of the car commence to open, and incidentally thesignal also sounds on the landing that the car is at that time leavingor passing.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way ofconstructing and using the same, although without attempting to setforth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes ofits use, I declare that what I claim is 1. An electric alarm system forelevators comprising a movable element forming a part of the elevatorplant and moving only when the car is moving, a magneto-electric alarm,a magneto-electric generator adapted to be actuated by said element, andan electric circuit including said generator and said alarm.

2. An electric alarm system for elevators comprising a magneto-electricalarm, a magneto-electric generator electrically connected therewith,and meansfor actuating said generator only when the elevator-car is inmotion.

3. An electric alarm system for elevators comprising a magneto-alarm, amagneto-generator, a circuitincluding said alarm and said generator,means forming a part of the elevator plant for actuating said generator,and a car-actuated automatic switch in said circuit.

4. An electric alarm system for elevators comprising an elevator-car, amagneto-generator, means for actuating said generator, a magneto-alarmin circuit with the generator, and means adapted to be automaticallyactuated by an elevator-car for opening and closing the said circuit.

5. An electric alarm system for elevators comprising in combination withthe car and the hoisting mechanism, a magneto-generator actuated by thehoisting mechanism, and a polarized electric bell in circuit with saidgenerator.

6. An electric alarm system for elevators comprising in combination witha rotatory shaft forming a part of the elevator hoisting mechanism and acar, a magneto-electric generator, means for transmitting power fromsaid shaft to the armature of said generator, an alarm, an electricswitch in circuit with said generator and said alarm, and means on thecar for actuating said switch.

7. An electric alarm system for elevators comprising a magneto-electricgenerator, a series of magneto-alarms, arranged in the elevator-well,and connected in multiple with the generator, and means forautomatically closing the circuit through said alarms successively.

8. The combination with a car, and a movable element forming a part ofthe elevator plant, of a series of polarized bells arranged in theelevator-well, a magneto-electric generator actuated by said element,and with which said bells are connected in multiple, and means foralternately closing and breaking the circuit through said bells insucces sion as the car moves up or down the well.

9. The combination with a car, and a movable element forming a part ofthe elevator plant, a polarized bell, a magneto-electric generatoractuated by said element, a pair of switches in series with'said belland in multiple with each other, and means for operating said switchessuccessively to close a circuit through said bell.

10. The combination with a car, and a movable element forming a part ofthe elevator plant, of a magneto-electric generator actuated by saidelement, a series of polarized bells arranged in the elevator-we1l, oneat each landing, and means for closing a circuit through the alarmlocated at the landing in advance of that being passed by the carwhether the car he moved upward or downward.

11. An alarm system for elevators comprising an electric alarm, a sourceof electrical supply, a pair of separated switches in series to withsaid alarm and said source of supply, an

